Music, Art, and Metaphysics

Jerrold Levinson

Levinson is one of the most influential writers on aesthetics of his generation

Contains a new introduction, reflecting on the essays and their influence over the last twenty years

This collection will interest a wide range of readers in the field of music and art theory

Music, Art, and Metaphysics

Jerrold Levinson

Description

This is a long-awaited reissue of Jerrold Levinson's 1990 book Music, Art, and Metaphysics, which gathers together the writings that made him a leading figure in contemporary aesthetics. Most of the essays are distinguished by a concern with metaphysical questions about artworks and their properties, but other essays address the problem of art's definition, the psychology of aesthetic response, and the logic of interpreting and evaluating works of art. The focus of about half of the essays is the art of music, the art of greatest interest to Levinson throughout his career. Many of the essays have been very influential, being among the most cited in contemporary aesthetics and having become essential references in debates on the definition of art, the ontology of art,
emotional response to art, expression in art, and the nature of art forms.